


shining like a lighthouse from the sea

by loosingletters



Series: light [7]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Family, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Ilum (Star Wars), Jedi Younglings - Freeform, Lightsabers, Traditions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:21:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25612012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loosingletters/pseuds/loosingletters
Summary: Rumor has it, if you clean up one of the droids in the temple the day before your Gathering, Anakin Skywalker himself will take you to Ilum.Or: Anakin loses his lightsabers and is absolutely popular with teeny tiny Initiates.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Original Jedi Character(s)
Series: light [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1739998
Comments: 86
Kudos: 971
Collections: Jedi-Friendly





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Anakin Skywalker is good with children and that's the hill I'll die on.

There were two things the younglings looked for when they saw Anakin Skywalker enter the crèche.

The first one, of course, was whether he was injured. It was common knowledge that Skywalker-and-Kenobi somehow always got involved in the most reckless and crazy missions and with the start of the war, that hadn’t changed.

If Anakin was not injured, then it was alright for the children to throw themselves at him with no need to watch out for any possible complications. Usually, those actions were accompanied by a cry of pure joy and delight, or, in the case of the children sensitive to touch, an enthusiastic wave sufficed.

The second thing they watched out for was whether he had his lightsaber with him. Now, this was the point where it got especially interesting for the younglings. If Anakin had this lightsaber with him then it would be just another regular fun day playing around listening to him tell stories about the war and the brave soldiers he fought with.

But if he didn't have a lightsaber and was not heading into the direction of the toddlers who couldn't be trusted to be around such a weapon, chances were high that instead Anakin was going to spend some time with the Initiates, particularly those who were supposed to go on their Gathering soon. As it were, Anakin had a bit of a _reputation_ for losing his lightsaber. It wasn’t that he just lost it somewhere in a ditch by being careless. When Anakin Skywalker came to tell you how he had lost his lightsaber, it would always be a story worthy of the stars about glory and dangerous risks and perhaps a Senator or two that needed to be saved.

This morning when Anakin headed into the rooms of the Dragon Clan he was very much not holding onto his lightsaber. He was also uninjured, even though he felt a little like hurt in the Force, but that wasn’t anything unusual in these times and nothing a calm day around his fellow Jedi couldn’t fix. Therefore the general assumption was made that he was alright enough to hug.

“Good morning,” Anakin greeted the tired senior Padawan sitting at the desk near the entrance.

The Weequay teenager smiled cheerfully despite the long bags under his eyes. Anakin was sure he had seen the Padawan in the halls of healing just yesterday when he had returned to Coruscant with a couple broken ribs, but Anakin wasn’t going to rat them out for sneaking off to crèche duty. He had done the same often enough, still did if he was honest. His trips had become less frequent with the war effort and his own Padawan to train, but he still tried to go there somewhat regularly. It was his duty as Obi-Wan’s first Padawan to make sure the next one would be a promising and interesting youngling after all.

“Knight Skywalker, what has brought you here today?” The boy asked.

“I spoke to Master Cherem yesterday, I’m picking up the Initiates for their Gathering.”

The boy’s eyes darted to the belt where Anakin usually kept his lightsaber and found the weapon missing. His already impossible bright grin seemed to lighten even more.

“Is it time already for the next group to go?” The boy asked. “Oh, wow, time sure flies… Well, you know the protocol I assume?”

Anakin rolled his eyes mock-annoyed and swiftly filled out the forms the Padawan had given him. “I haven’t lost my lightsaber _that_ often. I happen to enjoy taking younglings to Ilum.”

And it wasn’t even a lie, Anakin really did enjoy it, even if there were plenty Knights who preferred not to be stuck on a small ship with a bunch of overly excited children who were so nervous, some might even vomit. Anakin actually enjoyed the sensation, the younglings running around him like the bees in a hive. He had always been the most relaxed in places where there were so many Force-sensitives, their own tunes in the Force distracted from the abyss Anakin could gaze into so easily at all times.

“Have fun, Master Skywalker, and may the Force be with you.”

Anakin smiled in turn and made his way into the crèche proper. As soon as he stepped into the rooms the Initiates were in, a hush fell over the group. It only lasted for a split second, as long as the children needed to realize he was there, then Anakin opened up his arms and let himself be dragged to the floor.

“Hello, Knight Skywalker!” They chirped from all sides before beginning to chase him with all kinds of questions about his most recent missions.

Laughing, Anakin tried to quiet the group, but they proved to be as convincing as always. One moment he had been lying on the ground, the next he was sitting in the middle of the storytelling corner, surrounded by pillows, blankets and of course a hoard of younglings listening attentively as he told them a simplified version of a mission that had contained significantly more trotting through the dirt and complaining to Obi-Wan than he relayed to them. They didn’t seem to mind that he embellished some parts. They likely heard enough gruesome details about the war already, saw the clones walking their halls and the Jedi returning home with incredible injuries. If Anakin could give them this peace of mind, that would be enough.

“Anakin, why are you here?” A Kel Dor youngling asked after he had finished the story.

“Well,” Anakin said slowly, dragging out the word. “I was going to take the oldest of you to their Gathering, but I think I can also just-“

The rest of his sentence was lost in-between the excited cheering of the children.

“When are we going?” A Tholothian child asked. They appeared to be one of the older children, so likely one of those Anakin was going to take to Ilum.

“Depends,” he replied. “As soon as you can finish packing.”

As soon as he had said it, five of the children broke away from the pile and rushed into the directions of their rooms, cheered on by the rest of their clan. Fondly, Anakin watched as they disappeared behind different doors before returning his attention to the remaining children.

“Alright,” he said. “Who wants to hear another story in the meanwhile?”

The expectant eyes all focused on him were answer enough.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *fingerguns*  
> I'm back! TW for references to child abuse in regards to Anakin's childhood on Tatooine.

It didn’t surprise Anakin that all the Initiates clung to him as soon as they left the ship. The first gust of wind rushed beneath their coats, taking them by surprise, and soon after they were all holding onto each other with Anakin in their middle. He could feel how much they wanted to be anywhere but on the planet that was famous for being one of the coldest in the galaxy. Most of the children were used to the warm atmosphere of the Temple, the comfortable temperature that was just baseline enough for most inhabitants of the Order.

To Anakin, used to the climate of a desert world, it had still been a little cold initially. He had always appreciated Obi-Wan quietly turning up the thermostat of their apartment so that Anakin would be a bit more comfortable. The heated tiles beneath his feet were nothing like the sand of Tatooine, but the sensation of warmth was similar enough to chase away the homesickness.

While the Temple certainly had cold rooms, some even reaching downright freezing temperatures, their controlled environment didn’t compare to Ilum.

“Everybody wrapped in their coats?” Anakin asked, checking he hadn’t lost any of his miserable little Tooka kittens shaking like leaves in the wind yet.

“Yes.” “Yeah.” “I’m cold.” “Is it far?”

The Initiates looked up to him with hopeful eyes and so Anakin quickly ushered them close to the grand hall from which they’d reach the cave system. All the times he had been on Ilum already and never once had this place failed to make him be in awe of it. Even meters away from it still, he could hear the kyber singing. Perhaps, once the war was over, he’d stay a little longer on Ilum. The Jedi Temple that had been built on Ilum so many centuries ago had been abandoned a while back. All the guards had left with more and more Knights needed in the war, but perhaps Anakin could spend a week or two here.

“We’re not far at all,” he said. “Can’t you feel it?”

The kids frowned, but soon the smallest of the bunch began to sign excitedly, translating what they felt and experienced into signs that still weren’t enough to describe their joy. As much as the Jedi had tried to put their experiences into words, symbols, songs, pictures, none could quite grasp the Force in its entirety.

“I know,” Anakin replied. “It’s beautiful.”

He led the children inside the main cave and out of the storm. As soon as they were out of the wind, they stopped shivering, though that didn’t stop the Kel Dor boy from digging his gloved hands into Anakin’s coat, hoping the closeness would bring him some extra warmth. Anakin only smiled at him and resisted the urge to scoop him up.

As young as these Initiates were, appearing every younger with each week Anakin spent away from home, they would disapprove of being treated like little kids. This he knew from first-hand experience.

“Alright, you five, listen up well,” he started to say.

Immediately all five stood a bit straighter, giving him their full attention.

“This is Ilum. This is where you will get your crystal.”

He had said these words more times than the average Knight his age probably did and yet, each time, he had to change them just a bit, working with the audience he was giving this speech to.

“You cannot force it, you cannot demand it. The Force will give you exactly what you need, even if it doesn’t quite feel like it. My Master always says that the Force provides for everything if you don’t lose hope. Even when it doesn’t feel like it, even when you think you are caught in the dark, the Force is still there keeping watch over you and will aid you as much as it can.”

Anakin remembered the fight he’d had with Obi-Wan after this speech. They’d been stuck in the middle of nowhere on a planet resembling Tatooine too much for Anakin to be able to calm down.

_‘Where was the Force when they wouldn’t stop?’_ he had screamed then, misunderstanding his Master and the lesson Obi-Wan had tried to teach him.

“I won’t lie, these caves can be scary. You may see things that you would rather not. But we are Jedi, and we do not let our fears control us.”

“But the entrance,” the human girl protested, pointing at the frozen wall. “It’s closed. How are we supposed to get in?”

Anakin was reminded of his own very first gathering. It had been his first trip away from Coruscant and the first trip without Obi-Wan. He had been terrified the entire time, worried he wouldn’t get a crystal and a place in the Order. He had thought that he’d be thrown out or worse, that Obi-Wan would be disappointed in him and decide to discard him.

“Be patient and watch,” Anakin instructed.

When he saw the children pull a face, he only grinned. “I know, I know. Horribly boring advice. But in this case, you actually do have to wait.”

Anakin looked up in the sky, then he felt it burning up beneath his skin. Ilum’s sun illuminated the planet’s surface and slowly the icy gate broke down, revealing a pathway. The children looked at it in awe and even Anakin couldn’t avoid smiling. He doubted that he would ever grow sick of the sight.

“Now, the gateway will freeze shut again when the sun sets,” he informed them. “So by then you should be done finding your crystal. If you aren’t, we’ll have to get creative in breaking you out.”

Knowing how difficult it was to take the first step, Anakin began leading them into the cave. “Everyone has to go their own path. Take the direction that feels right to you. If you are unsure, I’ve been told meditation helps.”

He winked at them, causing them to giggle. Then, slowly, one by one, the children went off, following instinct, a hunch or, perhaps with time, also the Force.

The first time Anakin had been made to observe a gathering, he’d been terrified he’d lose the children, that something would happen to them. Thinking back, he had probably been more terrified than them. By now, he knew that Jedi kids were quite resilient. He had nothing to fear. All he needed to do was trust in them as well as he trusted himself.

Not that he had too much faith in himself these days with the war looming like the most gruesome monster he had ever met.

“Once more unto the breach,” Anakin muttered and began heading down the same path he had walked each and every time he had been to Ilum. He knew it was one of the more difficult ones, narrow and full of sharp stones and dangerous traps. It was also one of the darkest, where the light was the dimmest. Shadows formed into horrible silhouettes and the sound of heavy breathing, screaming men, and weeping grief followed him everywhere, ice shining in a threatening blood red.

As all the times before, the Force was leading him down the pathway of his nightmares.

_What are you trying to show me?_ Anakin asked, but the Force was silent.

Sighing, Anakin let the vision consume him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> I hope you liked this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're at the end of this little installment! Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it!

Anakin was not surprised to see that he wasn’t the first back out of the cave. It was difficult to tell how much time passed while you were wandering in the cave, your only light source being that of the crystals themselves. Time seemed to become irrelevant when you were surrounded by the universe itself, had it whispering to you, telling you of impossible futures and chances you might be able to take after all.

When Anakin stepped out of the Caves, his visions still following him, momentarily blinding him to a galaxy so alive and vibrant, half the entrance was already frozen. Only when he was fully engulfed by the sunlight did his dreams wash away and revealed the Mon Cala girl and the Tholothian child already waiting for him.

“Master Skywalker!” The Mon Cala girl exclaimed excitedly as the child next to her waved. “You’re back!”

Anakin walked over to them, briefly checking for visible injuries, but found that they were fine. They didn’t even look a little beat up. When Anakin had gone on his first gathering, another Initiate had ended up with a broken arm. That hadn’t been fun at all.

“Hey, you two,” Anakin said. “I see you’re back early. Were you successful?”

“Yes!”

The two of them eagerly showed him their crystals. One green, one a light blue color. Both were humming with life and content, much louder and vibrant than he remembered the crystals of his own gathering group being. The Force was guiding more and more Jedi towards more powerful crystals, those that wouldn’t break so quickly could withstand their partners feeling thousands of people die around them and not bleed a little. They could stand being fractured and turned into a multi-crystal blade.

Anakin wasn’t sure whether to be thankful or worried. There was relief in knowing that the Force hadn’t left them, not even during this war, but the pain of it thinking they’d suffer any longer was almost unbearable.

He hid all his thoughts behind his shields and instead congratulated the two. “Well done. You will craft fine blades with them, I’m sure. The others might need a few more hours. If you want, you can tell me about what happened to you inside.”

Some Initiates didn’t want to speak of it at all, others could hardly be stopped from sharing every detail about their gathering. The two in front of him seemed to be the latter type as they excitedly began to chatter and sign, regaling Anakin with the tales of their little adventure. One of them had indeed had a vision while the other had to prove their bravery. Anakin enjoyed listening to those stories, even if he could live without knowing the girl had contemplated jumping down a dark pit when her controlled falls weren’t “all that good yet”. Each story was a little different, as unique as the crystal and its wielders.

 _And how was your trip?_ The Tholothian child asked.

“It was fine,” Anakin replied, trying to banish thoughts of darkness weighing heavily on his shoulders like armor. “Nothing I haven’t experienced before.”

He didn’t want to dwell on these thoughts, at least not here where the kids would have to deal with the eventual backlash. Maybe he’d see if he could get another Knight to meditate with him back at the temple. Kath’resi should still be there, they hadn’t been on a mission since they had last gotten injured, losing their hands in the process.

Knowing them, it wouldn’t take Kath’resi long to be back on their feet, sketchpad in metal hands, chasing after Feemor.

“Do you want to hear about my Master’s first gathering?” Anakin asked instead. “It’s quite the tale.”

He needn’t say even a word more as the children immediately gave him their full attention. Anakin entertained them with tales of his own and Obi-Wan’s apprenticeships, stories experienced, lived, and retold many times. Every once in a while, he stopped to ask them for their opinions, what decisions they’d make at a crossroads. While he hadn’t been too fond of the Jadi’s way of narrating when he’d come to the temple, he had come to enjoy them. There was something sweet in being involved in a story to such a degree. Huddled together for warmth, they spent a few more hours outside waiting for the other younglings to make their way back. The last one, the twi’lek child, managed to get out just a few minutes before the gate froze over again.

“Now look,” Anakin said and together they watched the door freeze over again, safely sealing the kyber away.

“Couldn’t we just cut that open with our lightsabers?” the one human child asked, sounding a little frightened. Whatever they had seen down in the cave, it had shaken them up. “That’s not much protection.”

Anakin nodded. “Yes, but trust in the Force. The crystals know very well how to protect themselves. Now, since you mentioned lightsabers, I believe we have a ship to get back to and a couple blades to make.”

Anakin would need to adjust his own as well. It didn’t quite fit him more. Obi-Wan would undoubtedly raise his brow at it when he saw that Anakin had made yet another modification to it, not to mention Ahsoka. At this point, Anakin didn’t even know anymore whether it was a habit, a nervous tick, or need, but he’d always been tinkering away with his lightsaber even when he hadn’t needed a new crystal. This one, he felt, needed a little more preparation. He’d have to see if he could split his own and incorporate the shard he’d gotten from Ahsoka’s second kyber as well. Though, perhaps he should wait with that until after he had gotten the group of eager younglings settled.

There’d be no peace until he had calmed them down.

“First one back at the ship gets hot chocolate,” Anakin announced.

The speed at which the children rushed off, snow and ice forgotten, was truly admirable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: I'll pepper in the fact that nonbinary Jedi exist
> 
> Anyway! Thank you so much for your lovely comments! This was a lot of fun to write. I miss writing short stories like this hahahah.

**Author's Note:**

> Is it obvious yet that this whole series is going to end with crechémaster Anakin?  
> Anyway! I'm thinking this will be three chapters of Anakin interacting with younglings.  
> Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear what you think!


End file.
